Our most asked Chicken Questions
The FAQ’s on the ladies (hens) of Christian Co. Farm.
Image by Anna Christian from Murray McMurray hatchery 2021 summer photo session here on the farm.
How many chickens do you have and how many eggs do you get?
Currently, we have 19 hens. We have 12 more layers on the way. We also have 30 meat chickens and 2 turkeys arriving this May.
With our 19 hens, we range 12-17 eggs per day. The amount of eggs a hen lays is dependent on many factors including: breed, age, season (of the year), nutrition and stress. Some breeds are bred to be more productive. Others have better personalities, unique looks and prettier eggs.
How do you get colored eggs? Do chickens lay different colors? Are the yolks different?
The color of egg that is produced by a hen is based solely on its breed. If a chicken lays blue eggs, it will always lay blue eggs. One chicken will not lay ‘rainbow eggs,’ and that is why we selected the breeds of our ladies with the goal to achieve: Rainbow egg status. In order to have different colored eggs, you need different breeds of chickens. All of the yolks, regardless of egg shell color are golden! Well kept and loved chickens have rich tasting yolks of gold.
Are chickens easy to care for? Do you free range them?
I answer this by saying: chickens are like cats. They are super easy! They require food, fresh water, a clean coop and some love. Ours come when called, eat from our hands and jump up on our shoulders when we bend down. We have an automatic door that opens and closes with the sunrise and sunset, so no need to chase them. They inherently know when to come out for the day and return back to their home at night. Yes, our chickens are free rangers. They are a flock animal and spend their days together pecking and digging for bugs, worms and tasty grasses. They bath in the dirt, soak up the morning sun and take naps in the shade. Sometimes I see them on the back patio and a few hours later out the front window. We often get asked about predators. We have only lost 2 chickens in the last year. Coyotes ran out of the woods during the day and took them. This does not happen often and we’d rather lose a few to nature than ‘coop’ them up. It’s always a beautiful thing to see animals running free. Happy chickens = great eggs.